


The Cure for Madness

by ofwyrmsandguns



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Attempted Murder, Blood, Dark Brotherhood Questline, Gen, Knives, Soup, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 04:53:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21293879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofwyrmsandguns/pseuds/ofwyrmsandguns
Summary: Tensions between the family and Cicero are running high on both sides. It's only a matter of time before someone snaps and tries to sort out the issue with blood shed.(Or, what exactly happened just before the quest 'The Cure for Madness' starts in Skyrim)
Kudos: 16





	The Cure for Madness

Astrid was restless when she was anxious. Usually she had the occasional fit of it, but she'd barely sat in days. Her gut was screaming that something was wrong, something horrible, but she'd yet to figure out what, yet to figure out how to deal with it. Cicero had to be the cause, he had to be! It's been worse ever since he step foot in her home, she knew it.

When pacing around her desk didn't sate her, she decided to head to the training area; maybe a few swipes at the dummy could calm her down, or someone might be up for some hand to hand training. Arnbjorn was always up for a wrestle, while Nazir and Veezara were always keen to point her towards some new blade moves, and Gabriella always talked about getting Astrid into archery one day. But the voice echoing through the chamber stopped her dead.

“Poor, poor Night Mother. Not getting the respect, the love she deserves.” Cicero crooned in his sing song voice. Astrid's lip curled at the sound of it. “Surely you agree with Cicero? Surely you believe the Night Mother is being insulted by the assassins here?”

Who was he talking to? None of her family would agree with the mad jester's ramblings, right?

“We've been over this, Cicero.” Came Veezara's voice, patient but pained at having to deal with Cicero. “The Night Mother has my respect of course, but my loyalty has, and always will, be with Astrid. If she believes we should turn our backs on the old ways, then I will do so.”

Sweet, loyal Veezara. Astrid allowed herself a proud smile, Cicero would never win over her Argonian.

“But the shame! The shame! You are a Shadowscale, the most noble and brilliant of the Brotherhood branches! Without our reverence to the Night Mother we are nothing more than cut throats! Common, dirty murderers.”

“I am not one for religion. When you grow up in a theological society, you learn your stance very well. Sithis, the Night Mother, the old ways, the Hist? I respect them, but nothing more. Look at where following the old ways got everyone else, where it took the Shadowscales. With them, the entire Brotherhood nearly ended in ruin. Without them, we survive.” Astrid tried to spy on them where they stood, Veezara was by the training dummies, clearly interrupted mid-practice and giving his subtle signs of annoyance at it. Cicero was perched above Veezara's usual sitting spot, dancing on the edge of the ridge. Astrid caught Veezara's eye and he gave her an exasperated look. She gave him a sympathetic look back.

“But if we revive them, we could thrive! Oh yes! With the listener once more at the helm, we can rise to the top again!” Cicero declared with a flourish. Veezara waved him off, returning to his training. Realising he was being ignored, Cicero sat down in a huff and watched Veezara instead. “Cicero's never met a Shadowscale before.” He said conversationally. Veezara stopped, almost puzzled by the change in tone.

“You won't meet another one either. From the way you spoke of us, I thought you were rather well versed.” Veezara replied.

“The Bravil sanctuary lost there's shortly before Cicero joined. The Cheydinhal sanctuary was supposedly banned from having them.” Cicero replied petulantly, as if they were banned from keeping pets.

“Two Shadowscales were slaughtered there during the Purification, I'm not surprised. Say what you will, but we like to look after our own.” Veezara replied, turning back to his training. Cicero started humming, before cutting himself off.

“I thought you lizards loved your trees.” Cicero said. Veezara hit the dummy unnecessarily hard, turning to glare at the jester while Astrid winced. Veezara was not keen on being called a 'lizard'. “What went wrong with you?”

“I don't need to give you any answers.” Veezara growled, taking a deep breathe before performing a stunning spinning slash against the dummy. Cicero gave an applause. “So long as I follow the orders of my 'executioner', as the old titles went, I break none of the tenets. I believe in Astrid, and she's there to support that belief, that's all I need. Tangible proof.”

“The Night Mother is tangible! She's just up those stairs, you could talk to her all day if you like!” Cicero cheered.

“Yes, but Astrid's a better conversationalist.” Veezara joked, giving a toothy grin before turning back to the dummy, hitting it as loud as possible to drown Cicero out. She needn't have worried, really. Veezara was loyal to a fault, wanting nothing more from her than contracts and praise. Nothing could swipe him from under her nose.

With renewed confidence she walked past the two, receiving a quick nod from Veezara and an over the top bow from Cicero that almost had him falling over. Instead she headed deeper inside to speak with Nazir, sharing a chaste kiss with Arnbjorn on the way. Cicero's singing echoed through the caves, making Nazir wince.

“Can't you make him stop?” Nazir asked, his tone one of defeat. Astrid sighed in response, grabbing a loaf of bread and the bowl of soup Nazir offered.

“If I was to make him stop anything, it would be his attempts to turn you all against me.” Astrid said, barely hiding the disdain in her voice. “He can sing all he wants if he could just stop being so petulant.”

“You know none of us will fall for it, right?” Nazir asked. Astrid's silence spoke the words she didn't dare say. “We know who keeps us safe and together Astrid. And it's not some long dead corpse.”

“He's right." Festus said in his usual huffy tone, entering the room and sitting down for his own meal. “Even if I would like to go back to the old ways, I don't approve of stepping over you to do so.”

Astrid ate her soup in silence, 'feeding the ducks' with her bread. Festus sighed loudly. “He seems convinced that he's close to getting Veezara on his side, he's practically putting all his time into him. Veezara might not approve but at least it's distracting Cicero from doing anything...rash.”

“How's the emperor contract going anyway?” Nazir asked.

“Maro's son should be dead by now.” Astrid said with a wry grin. “It will plant seeds of doubt in the emperor's mind about trusting Maro, and make our job that much easier.”

“Have you decided who gets the honour yet?” Nazir asked, a tinge of excitement breaking into his voice. They all wanted to be the one to do it, they'd all visited her at one point or another, some offering her bribes, some reminding her of their skills. Babette had threatened her with poison and Arnbjorn, jokingly, with divorce if she didn't choose them.

“Patience, dear brother. There's so much to consider before that time comes.” Astrid assured them. She was honestly considering drawing straws at this point just to stop any fighting. A screech pierced their ears.

“Defiler! Debaser! Mangy mutt, Cicero has never heard such disrespect!”

Rolling her eyes, Astrid stood up from the table, soup half-eaten, and returned to the main hall, Nazir and Festus in tow. This happened so often it was practically part of their daily routines now. Veezara was stood in his usual spot, his face covered by one of his hands. Gabriella and Babette watched from the other side of the room, clearly amused by the jester's antics. Arnbjorn was beside his workbench, looking poised to bite, and facing a red faced Cicero.

“The Night Mother is mother to all! How could you ever even think such things?”

“That pile of rotten bones should've been thrown out years ago.” Arnbjorn said gruffly, earning a horrified shriek from Cicero. “Would you care to repeat what you said about my dear wife for all to hear?”

“The pretender and her guard dog should watch their tongues before Cicero cuts them out.” Cicero warned, his fingers twitching towards his knife. “You shouldn't say such horrible things about your mother.”

“I'd eat my other if I was hungry enough, but the Night Mother is barely worth the hassle.” Arnbjorn growled.

“That's enough.” Astrid instructed, making her way over to step between the two before it came to blows. “We've been over this, both of you.” Astrid glared at Cicero first. “I am mistress here, you do not question my authority Cicero. And dear husband,” Astrid turned to face Arnbjorn, arms crossed over her chest, staring him down. “You are not to antagonise our-”

A strong kick to the back of Astrid's legs brought her down to her knees, the Blade of Woe taken from its scabbard before she could grab it, held tight enough against her neck to draw blood. Cicero held her back against him, her height advantage lost in the awkward kneeling position she'd found herself in.

Arnbjorn roared, trying to lunge at Cicero but halting as the knife went deeper. Gabriella and Babette had frozen in place, all mirth drained from their faces. Festus held out a hand as if to stop them moving, no spells readied so as to not tempt the mad jester. She couldn't see Nazir or Veezara from where she knelt.

“No one take another step, or your precious, precious mistress gets to meet Sithis sooner than expected.” Cicero threatened. Arnbjorn seethed with rage, but fear pinned him to the spot. Cicero continued talking, chastising them all for their treatment of the Night Mother, but Astrid couldn't hear him over the blood racing through her ears, her heart beating too fast to even think straight.

The knife was suddenly yanked away from her neck, a heavy boot kicking her to the floor as Cicero shrieked. She twisted over to see Veezara wrestling her blade out of Cicero's hands, while Cicero fought back, attempting to twist the blade against Veezara. The blade was eventually dropped only for Cicero to pull out his own knife, Veezara's eyes widening at the sight of it. Everyone else seemed frozen in shock.

Except Arnbjorn, who flung himself at the jester, taking Veezara down with them. Cicero quickly wriggled free while Arnbjorn tried to pin him down as the werewolf started to transform, no longer able to hold back the wolf. Cicero made another beeline for Astrid, but Nazir had picked up her Blade and was standing guard over her, ready to swing it full force at Cicero's head. He dodged it with a giggle, making a jab at Nazir before turning to throw the knife at Festus who was mere seconds from throwing a fireball at him. He pulled another to aim at Gabriella before truly realising his situation; Cicero was outnumbered far too much for him to have any hope at seriously injuring anyone before his own guts were splayed across the floor, yet a manic grin stretched across his face before he rushed towards the sanctuary entrance, chased by a fully transformed Arnbjorn and each family member in turn after that.

Finally collecting herself, Astrid pushed herself to her feet, ready to give chase, before a harsh sound filled her ears. Heavy breathing dragged through sharp teeth, muffled groans, an ever so slight rattle of shivering. No, not all family members had given chase.

Astrid turned to where Veezara still lay, exactly where Arnbjorn had thrown him, the rocks surrounding his favourite spot now stained in deep red. He was turned away from her, grasping his belly, and as Astrid neared she saw his face was screwed up in pain too.

She turned him over onto his back, lifted his hands to check the damage, and almost fell back in shock. He'd practically been split open, his hands barely holding back his guts, blood spilling between his fingers all over his armour and the floor. Astrid quickly placed her own hands over the wound, pushing down as hard as she could. Veezara's eyes flew open, settled on Astrid's face.

“Does it look as bad as it feels?” He asked, choking down a pained laugh.

His eyes hadn't widened in shock of Cicero pulling another knife, but at the pain of it cutting him open, she was sure of it. Astrid turned her head towards the entrance. “BABETTE!” She screamed.

“That's not a good sign.” Veezara groaned.

“You'll be fine, it's not that bad.” Astrid lied. “BABETTE!”

Half hurried footsteps returned through the corridor until Gabriella appeared half way down the steps. She couldn't see Veezara where she stood.

“Is everything alright Astrid?” Gabriella asked.

“No. Get Babette. Now.” Astrid demanded.

“Whatever for-”

“**Now**.” Astrid yelled, almost knocking Gabriella off her feet as she scurried away again.

“You are most scary when you yell, you know.” Veezara said, Astrid electing to ignore him. She shifted to try and make herself more comfortable, getting more groans for her effort.

Gabriella's footsteps returned not long after, accompanied by Babette's. More footsteps followed after them, but it was the two women who entered the room first, all colour draining from their faces at the sight before them.

“Babette, please say you have a potion for this.” Astrid pleaded, while Babette still stood frozen in shock, trying to process what she was seeing. Gabriella knelt by Veezara's other side, quickly assessing the problem before putting her own hands over Astrid's and pushing down. Babette eventually nodded her head.

“Child's play Astrid. Nazir, lift his legs.” Babette instructed, running into her room. Veezara shifted uncomfortably under their hands.

“Don't worry, sisters. You 're not hurting me at all.” Veezara said, shivering on the cold floor. Gabriella tutted at him.

“A little pain won't kill you, brother. Just stay awake, okay?” She instructed, her voice soft and dripping with worry.

Astrid looked around her family, all appearing unhurt except for Veezara, if not shaken. But once again a face was missing.

“Where's Arnbjorn?” Astrid asked. “Where's my beloved husband?” All eyes turned away from hers, barring Veezara who still stared at the ceiling, his eyes getting glassier by the minute. “Where is he?” She demanded, loud enough to make everyone jump.

“Scary.” Veezara repeated, earning a choked chuckle from Gabriella.

“Cicero is a hell of a lot faster than we thought.” Nazir admitted. “We lost track of him quicker than we thought.”

“But Arnbjorn was... well, himself. No-one can outrun the wolf, or his nose. We lost track of him too.” Festus continued.

“So my husband is out chasing a deranged lunatic who's already tried to kill two family members, and we don't know where either of them are?” Astrid asked, suddenly feeling unsteady. By Sithis, Arnbjorn didn't even know Veezara had been hurt, didn't know what the jester was capable of. Babette had re-entered the room, rushing to Veezara's side.

“This potion will close the wound first, then you'll have to drink this health potion Veezara.” Babette instructed, the potion bottles quickly getting uncorked. Gabriella pulled Astrid's hands off when Astrid didn't move, finally letting Babette get to the wound. Astrid stumbled back to her feet.

“Gabriella, could you watch the door for us? We need to make sure Arnbjorn and the Listener knows what happened when they get back.” Nazir asked, his voice sounding far away to Astrid's ears. “Are you alright Astrid?” Nazir asked, his voice much softer than she was used to. Astrid stared at him silently, while Nazir pointed to her neck. “You've been bleeding.”

“Have I?” She asked, raising her hands to check only to notice they were already soaked in Veezara's blood and sticky to the touch. She hadn't even noticed she'd been bleeding. She'd never been squeamish, but something about being covered in her brother's blood, blood that had only been shed because he'd tried to save her, was making her feel slightly faint. Or maybe it was worry for her husband, running through the wilds of Skyrim in a rage fuelled mission to tear apart her attacker, that was making her feel dizzy. Nazir helped to sit Veezara up so he could drink the potion, his wound no longer oozing but still he winced at every movement. At least the vacant glassy look in his eyes quickly faded as he drank the health potion, his brush with death would soon be nothing more than a bad memory.

“Just try to relax, Veezara, let the elixir do its work. You'll feel better shortly.”

“Achh, thank you dear. You are most kind. The jester's cut feels as bad as it looks, I'm afraid.”

Astrid clenched her fists, her lips curling into a scowl, and feeling powerless for the first time in a long time. Cicero would pay, she'd make sure of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Is 'feeding the ducks' a well used phrase? For anyone that doesn't know what that means, you tear off pieces of bread and dump it in your soup for it to soak up the soup, then fish the bread out using your spoon. It's the best way to eat soup, and also a pretty hilarious name for a method of eating for a terrifying assassin. I tried googling the phrase and all I got was feeding ferrets duck soup when they're sick. I then urban dictionaried it and, welp. No, it's definitely a way to eat soup I swear.


End file.
